Cautionary
by softcorepessimist
Summary: Sometimes the things that are the worst for you feel the best. Bella and Jasper share a great friendship that is the envy of everyone else but at some point it stops being an innocent friendship. Will they continue on this path at the expense of the rest of their family?
1. Prologue

Something about him told me to stay away. It could've been his unruly, blonde hair that showed he wasn't nearly as neat or as predictable as Edward. It could've been that even though his eyes were brown they still held a tinge of red in the iris that suggested he wasn't as strict of a vegetarian as the rest of his family. Or maybe it was him literally pushing me away; his emotional powers let him do that. I could hide everything from Edward, but with him I couldn't hide anything. He could peer into my soul and see everything not just what he wanted to see, somehow the vulnerability in that made me gravitate towards him even more. But, no matter what told me to stay away, I didn't listen.

Let this story serve as a cautionary tale.


	2. A Dumb Crush

I laid down in my bed waiting until Edward would climb into my window and lay down next to me. When he first started doing this, I was nervous each night especially when I felt his body heat (or lack thereof) next to me. I'd never slept next to a boy before him and I my self consciousness skyrocket each time. I'm sure he could hear my heartbeat quickening and my breathing increase ever so slightly, he never verbally told me, but he did move in closer to me smiling to let me know it was alright. It's different now. I'm never nervous anymore and it isn't because I don't love him, but after awhile I guess you feel so comfortable with somebody you let your guard down.

Charlie's snores resonated through the walls and with the confirmation of him sleep came Edward. He was immediately next to me and twisting his fingers and in my mahogany curls. He was facing me and was close enough that our faces were already practically touching. His honey and velvet scent filled my nostrils and his hair glowed in the soft moonlight. He had a big lopsided grin on his face and I knew that there was no place he's rather be but here cloaked in the same night (and blankets) that I was.

"Did you miss me?" He whispered to me.

I giggled, "I just saw you a couple of hours ago."

"But that doesn't mean you didn't miss me." At this we both laughed softly enough to feel it reverberate in our bodies but not enough to wake Charlie. These are the moments I hold dear in my heart. The moments where someone isn't trying to kill us, the treaty is still intact, and nothing else is pressing enough to stop him from coming to see me. I mindlessly put my hands in his bronze locks twirling them and he was twirling mine.

It got quiet for a second before Edward spoke up again. "My family misses you... they wanted to know if you wanted to come over for dinner."

"All of your family misses me?"

"Okay maybe not Rosalie but you know Alice is excited and Jasper especially keeps asking for you."

When I heard his name my heartbeat jumped but only for a second. It was like a tiny bit of adrenaline was released every time the name Jasper came up in conversation. I always rationalized it by saying that Jasper scared me and even almost attacked me but I didn't feel scared when I was with him. I immediately forgave him about the incident on the night on my birthday and ever since then I made it a point to talk to him and allow him feel the wave of acceptance and warmth that flooded the room every time I was with him, I mean afterall Jasper was the one who convinced his family to stay in Forks even after the fiasco on my birthday night and for that I will forever be grateful. Honestly, I think I have a little bit of a crush on him. Nothing will ever come of it, it's kinda like a crush you have on a celebrity, I mean sure Evan Peters is cute but I'm not flying out to see him anytime soon. I don't love Jasper, I don't flirt with him, and I sure don't let him know about this dumb little crush either, but I do think he is the handsomest Cullen and he's the only one I can truly talk to for hours at a time. Even Edward doesn't know that sometimes when the rest of the family leaves to hunt I drive to his house to visit Jasper. We talk about everything from books to history and he even confides in me a secret that he he's never told to his family and for the sake of this secret I make sure to continue visiting Jasper when his family is away. I wonder if Alice sees us in her visions.

"Well tomorrow's Friday, tell them I'll come by after school." I said.

He smiled. "I'm sure Alice already knows. We plan on hunting tomorrow so come at around 7."

"Sure." I'll be sure to get there early so Jasper and I have enough time. I nestled closer into Edward's chest and began drifting off to sleep as he hummed my lullaby.


	3. Shared Secret

By 3:30 I'd pulled into the Cullen's long driveway. My truck was so loud that I was happy that the Cullen's hunted at least thirty miles away from their house, any closer and they would've heard me puttering along. I parked in the space that usually was occupied by Edward's Volvo and got out the car, before I even put my hand on the handle to the front door Jasper pulled it open at an incomprehensible speed. Jasper wore a white thermal with a red \, plaid flannel shirt overtop and blue jeans, he was dressed like the stereotypical teenager, and I wondered if that's how he also had to dress nothing too flashy nothing too plain. "Bella!" He exclaimed as he hugged me. He'd gotten better at hugging since we started hanging out, at first he'd barely put his arms around me and kept his back completely straight which didn't accommodate our height difference at all. Basically he was hugging my neck. But now, he hugged just like a regular person and even though his body's cold, I could still feel warmth in his hug.

I hugged him back and exclaimed back "Jasper!"

He left the embrace and opened the door completely and gestured for me to come in. "After you, Darlin'." He always spoke to me with a thick Southern accent when we were alone and I absolutely adored it.

"Why I do declare, you are a true gentleman, General Whitlock." I said with my best Southern Belle impression. I liked to joke with him like this and when I get into my fake accent he calls me his Southern Bella. I know it's corny but it gets me to blush every time. I walked into the living room again appraising how stylish and modern it was. All of the furniture was perfectly rectangular and either back which accommodated the white walls beautifully. It was probably Esme who decorated but I always forget to ask whenever I see her. I walked through the living room after one last glance and walked up the stair leading to Jasper's room which was by far my favorite room in the house. I liked Edward's room, but it didn't seemed lived in (he may be the only documented vampire with OCD). Jasper's room on the other hand was one that showed he was in there the majority of the time. His room was absolutely enormous and had a huge bed with black fur sheets in the middle of it. A fireplace was to the right next and to the life was a huge bookcase filled with books primarily from the 19th century. He had a bear skin rug at the foot of his bed and his floors were wooden. In the corner in front the bookcase were a table and two chairs and this is where spent the totality of our time together. He walked at his accelerated vampire speed to pull out the chair for e then he pushed it in as soon as I sat down. He quickly sat on the other side of me.

He smiled at me and the light in the fireplace bounced off his curls. We talked about his favorite book Uncle Tom's Cabin and my favorite, Wuthering Heights. He reminisced about the war and his first memories with the Cullens. We laughed and joked around until it got to that time of the night.

"Do you mind?" He asked looking at my neck. I immediately knew what he meant.

"Go ahead." As soon as the words left my mouth he put his nose right up to my jugular. I could feel the tip of his nose brush softly against my neck and I knew he felt the excitement that gave me in the air. I could hear him take a big inhale like Edward he was enjoying the bouquet. "Have you been... controlled since the last time we did this?" I asked as he began drawing his nose down on my wrist. He nodded softly as he brought his lips to the bite James made months ago.

"Are you sure this okay, Bella?"

"Yes Jasper, if this is what it takes to make sure you stop killing to feed then I am positive." I could feel a slight tinge of shame being projected by Jasper as he bit into me. His eyes (now turned red) apologized as he drank deeply from me. I moved my wrist back as I started getting lightheaded and with great disciplined he separated himself from my arm.

"I'm sorry Bella, I shouldn't have to do this just to wean myself off of human blood. I'll stop soon, I promise. A drop of blood slid down his cheek and I leaned over the table and wiped it off for him. Ever since he told me that he'd been feeding off of humans without his family knowing, I felt like it was my job to contain it, so I figured if he had to drink human blood it could just come from me.

"It's okay Jasper, I don't mind, I kinda like being able to do this." He gave me sad, defeated smile when I said this but immediately perked up when I mentioned a new civil war documentary on the History Channel playing as we spoke.

"Then what in the hell are we waiting for?" He picked me up and ran me downstairs. We sat on the couch and watched t.v. only a couple of inches away from each other. I was tempted to reach and touch him or play in his hair but I stopped myself and just rested my head slightly on his shoulder instead. Jasper was intently watching the documentary, and I could feel the happiness rolling off of him. Time passed quickly and the clock was approaching 7.

"You'd better go hunt now and get the red out of your eyes, they'll be back any minute."

He looked at the time. "You're right, I'd better get going." He gave me a wink before going to the door. "Remember, this is our little secret." He said pointing to my wrist which still burned a little from his venom.

"Of course."

He ran out the door after I said this and I was now alone. I made my way up to Edward's room and played one of the thousands of CDs in his collection. I laid on his floor and looked at the ceiling waiting for the Cullens to return.


End file.
